Serpent and Stone

Chapter 21

"I want to visit them."

I paused in my task, scrubbing laundry clean in the temple pool. I turned back to look at Perseus. He sat on a stool, back straight as he worked the large wooden loom leaning against him. He too had paused his work when he spoke, his eyes seeking me out.

"Visit who?"

"My fallen brothers," he replied. "The men you buried. I want to visit their grave."

I admit, it had been so long since the day I had buried those men, that I had nearly forgotten all about it. After all, they were no one, nothing to me. I had not known them, had not even seen them before the moment of their death. But for Perseus, it was different. They had been his brothers in arms, his comrades. Some I suspected, had even been his friends. I had seen in the way his voice broke when he asked about their burial, in the deep mourning in his eyes in the days after the battle. I had not wanted to ask him about it in respect for his mourning. Now it appeared that he wanted to revisit those memories, and it was not my place to stop him.

"Alright," I said. "We can go tomorrow. It's a far journey from here, almost halfway across the island." I hesitated. "Are you sure you're ready for such a long distance?"

Of course, he nodded eagerly. "I'm ready. As long as you show me the way, I can make it."

"Then tomorrow morning," I repeated myself. "Tomorrow morning we will go."

It had been months now since Perseus lost his sight, and he was adept at walking blind. He was able to walk to the garden by himself, no longer needing my guidance anymore, and he was progressing well in our combat training. Yet he had never traveled such a long distance since going blind, and I couldn't help the worry that bubbled up in my chest at the thought.

I tried to banish my worry as I turned back to scrubbing the laundry, even harder than I had before. Perseus was more than capable of the journey, and I would be there with him through every step. Nothing would go wrong while I was there to help.

The next morning, we both rose early and set out shortly after dawn. It was perhaps a five hour walk to the grave site from the temple, and that was at a brisk pace. I calculated that it could take us twice as long with Perseus needing to go slowly and carefully. In preparation, I packed a bag of provisions with me, food and water and even a tarp we could use as a shelter in case we were unable to make it back to the temple before dark. I was being paranoid, I knew, but nevertheless it made me feel better to be so prepared.

We descended from the base of the mountains down toward the thick forest of cypress, pine, and sycamore trees. It was new terrain for Perseus. The only time he had been here, I had been dragging his unconscious body from the battlefield, not even certain if he would live until the next morning. Yet he still insisted on navigating it with minimal help from me.

His lips curled into a scowl as he felt the ground ahead with his staff, the dull wood brushing over dirt and roots.

"More to the left," I offered him. He followed my instruction, narrowly avoiding a large root that would have sent him falling forward. I bit my lip, curling my hands into fists to suppress my growing urge to guide him, to lead him on the right path. I had to trust in him and his abilities. He could do it on his own, I knew it. I just had to let him.

"I think I'm beginning to hate trees," he muttered as he felt his way around another thick tree trunk, carefully stepping over the gnarled roots at its base. "They're conniving bastards, aren't they? Always trying to trip me and make me fall."

I snorted. "I'd watch my words. Soon you might have a troop of vengeful dryads pulling nasty tricks on you."

"Have you truly seen them?" he questioned. "The dryads?"